Force for life Moscow woman starts local chapter for women at risk of breast, other cancers

Jake Danna Stevens / Staff Photographer
Moscow resident Maria Serra is the founder of the local chapter of Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, or FORCE, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping individuals affected by hereditary breast and ovarian cancers.

Maria Serra didn't waste time upon finding out her genetics put her at a high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers. She got proactive and took extensive surgical precautions.

The surgeries went fine, but the Moscow resident still had to contend with the myriad physical and emotional aftereffects. Help eventually came in the form of Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, or FORCE, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping individuals affected by hereditary breast and ovarian cancers.

So taken is Mrs. Serra with the FORCE mission that she recently established its first Scranton area chapter. Until now, those interested in attending a FORCE support group had to drive two hours to Philadelphia.

"I really felt there was such a need for this in our area," said Mrs. Serra, a computer systems support analyst for W.W. Norton & Co.

She started putting the group together last summer, with guidance from her oncologists. She traveled to local cancer support groups to get the word out, and has already done her first fundraiser.

The first meeting was held in November. Attendance was small, but Mrs. Serra is hoping word-of-mouth will have spread by the time she holds the next meeting in about a month or so. (Those looking for more information can email her at marias@facingourrisk.org, or visit FORCE's website, www.facingourrisk.org.)

Through the meetings, Mrs. Serra said, local women and men, both survivors and those at-risk, can attend and share their stories, their fears and their questions in an informal, compassionate, understanding environment.

"You just can't describe when you meet other people in your shoes. I was just so impressed with the women I met in the group," she said. "Their stories helped me heal mentally."

Mom a survivor

Mrs. Serra's mother, Joanne Petrella, is a breast cancer survivor, so Mrs. Serra started getting mammograms at an earlier age than most people.

In November 2007, six months after her last mammogram had yielded a clean bill of health, the East Mountain native found a lump in her left breast. It turned out to be a benign cyst, but her doctors found some calcifications in another part of her breast that left cause for concern.

She underwent a biopsy, and it turned up stage 0 ductal carcinoma in situ, a low-grade form of breast cancer.

"If you get cancer, that's the one you want to have," Mrs. Serra said.

But then her oncologist looked at the cancer history on her father's side. Her grandmother died of ovarian cancer at 47, while her aunt succumbed to breast cancer at the same age.

Based on the oncologist's recommendation, Mrs. Serra traveled to Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia for genetic testing. There, she tested positive for the BRCA 1 mutation, meaning she had an 85 percent chance of developing breast cancer before the age of 70, and a 50 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer.

At the time, her kids, Dominic and Gina, were both in high school. In fact, Dominic was 17, the same age of her father, the late Ralph Petrella, when his mother died.

"I knew how difficult it was for my father not to have a mom," she said. "I wanted to do everything I could do to limit the risk. My grandmother wasn't given the information to be proactive. But I was."

So, throughout 2008, she underwent a series of surgeries that included a bilateral mastectomy and oophorectomy. It was a difficult time, made only harder when her father died unexpectedly of bowel cancer that October.

Loving support

"I couldn't have done this without my husband (Mark); he was behind me 100 percent. And my mom and my kids. And I have very good friends," said Mrs. Serra, a deeply spiritual woman who does weekly Eucharistic adoration at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Moscow. To help her deal with the physical and emotional strain of the surgeries, Mrs. Serra's doctors recommended she contact FORCE. She was sold after attending her first meeting.

Today, she's completely satisfied with the outcome of her decision, with not a single regret. For here on out, she said, it's all about "helping other women."

Contact the writer: jmcauliffe@timesshamrock.com

TO NOMINATE A NORTHEAST WOMAN, please submit requests via email to lifestyles@timessham rock.com or mail them to Northeast Woman Nominations, The Sunday Times, 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503. Please include the woman's name, address and the reason the reader feels the woman is deserving. Those submitting need to include their name and a daytime phone number.Meet Maria Serra

At home: Resides in Moscow with her husband, Mark, and their two children, Dominic, 22, a student at Penn State University, and Gina, 19, a student at East Stroudsburg University. She is the daughter of Joanne and the late Ralph Petrella; two brothers, Ralph and Joe.

At work: Computer systems support analyst for W.W. Norton & Co.

Inspiration: "My family - past, present and future," she said.

Aspiration: To reach out to as many people as possible to educate them on the risks associated with hereditary cancers and preventive actions that can help save lives

Quote: "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."

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